Dale Davis had 14 points to lead six players in double figures
as the Indiana Pacers overcame the absence of All-Star center
Rik Smits and continued their domination over the Philadelphia
76ers with an 82-77 victory.

Reggie Miller added 12 points and Mark Jackson, Antonio Davis,
Derrick McKey and Jalen Rose 10 apiece for Indiana, which has
won eight straight from Philadelphia since November 24th, 1993.

"I didn't like it, but it's one of those games where you forget
it and move on," Pacers coach Larry Bird said. "We've played two
in a row at home like this. We could have easily lost this game
as we won. We did not play well. We made a lot of bad
decisions, but we got the win, we're happy with it and we'll
move on."

Smits, whose 16.6 points per game ranks second on the club
behind Miller, did not dress due to lower back spasms. Mark
West started in the pivot and had just two points in 17 minutes.

"We got a very ugly win tonight, but a win is a win," Jackson
said. "They played well and wanted it very badly."

Derrick Coleman had 16 points and 18 rebounds and Theo Ratliff
added 13 and 13 for Philadelphia, which is 2-15 against Central
Division opponents.

"They doubled me and forced me into bad shots," Coleman said.
"Then they went down and executed well. The officiating crew
tonight was terrible."

Joe Smith, who was acquired in a four-player deal with Golden
State on Tuesday, had seven points in 14 minutes off the bench
in his Philadelphia debut. Brian Shaw, who was also picked up
in the deal, has yet to report to the team.

"Just getting here tonight was tough," Smith said. "I got pretty
tired. Coach Brown sat me down to rest me. But it felt pretty
good when I was out there. I hope to come in for them and be a
scoring threat and grab some rebounds."

A 21-foot jumper by Jackson with under a second remaining in the
third quarter gave Indiana its biggest lead, 67-54. But the
Sixers began chipping away in the fourth quarter.

A pair of free throws by Scott Williams and Smith drew
Philadelphia within nine, with 10:23 remaining. After Rose sank
one of two free throws, Coleman followed with a short jumper and
a driving layup, making it 68-60 with 9:21 to go.

A jumper by McKey with 6:18 to play restored the Pacers
double-digit lead before the Sixers broke off a 7-0 run. Allen
Iverson hit three-of-five from the stripe, Ratliff sank
one-of-two and Tim Thomas converted a three-point play as the
Sixers drew within 74-71 with 3:24 left.

Chris Mullin scored off a driving layup and Miller drained a
17-footer giving the Pacers a seven-point edge, with 2:20 to go.
The Sixers answered with baskets by Eric Snow and Iverson to
make it 78-75 with 66 seconds to play.

But the Pacers put the game away at the free-throw line. Dale
Davis and Jackson each sank one-of-two and Antonio Davis drilled
both his chances as Indiana sank four-of-six from the stripe in
the final 31 seconds.

"We just couldn't get over the hump," Coleman said. "Every time
we got close, they made a run. We just need to stay strong."

Philadelphia offset shooting 35 percent (29-of-84) from the
field by holding a 53-42 rebounding edge, including 25-15 on the
offensive glass. The 53 boards were the most allowed by the
Pacers in a game this season.